Spread My Wings
by xlostangelx
Summary: When the mysterious Alex Rousseau is found hiding in the jungle, the castaways' lives are plunged into turmoil once again
1. Drugs and a Girl

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) K+ for mild language (whole story) T for violence, language, and some sexual references

Charachters (in this chapter): Charlie, "Mysterious Girl", Claire, Kate, and Jack.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. So there.

Author's note: Hiya there! This is my first real story (the other one uploaded was just a oneshot songfic) so please read and review! Just so you know, though, I am a busy, busy girl, and between school, volleyball, soccer, drama, DI, Ultimate Frisbee, choir, ASB, and my social life, I don't get much freetime. I also happen to be a slow writer (my fingers may type 60 wpm, but my brain types 10 wpm). So please wait at least two weeks before sending me nasty emails telling me to update! Thank you! and now, you maay read my lovely litle story!

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_Now…the coast is clear,_ He thought to himself, _I can leave without her noticing._

Quietly, casually, he headed towards the trees and the path to the caves, almost holding his breath. He snuck a glance back at her. She was just putting Aaron to sleep. He hurried up a bit. Kate was over there with her. She wouldn't hesitate to ask Kate to watch Aaron for a second if she thought he was keeping something from her

He didn't like keeping secrets from her, but what could he do. He, the man who had basically become a father to her baby, couldn't just go up to her and say, "Hey Claire, I'm a heroin addict," Yeah, that would _really_ put their relationship on solid footing. He knew Claire would be mad if she found out, though. But he was hoping that wouldn't happen.

"Charlie!"

He winced as he heard her voice. He turned to face her as she came walking towards him.

"Charlie, where are you going? I was hoping we could spend some time together, since Kate offered to watch Aaron," She said, smiling playfully at him.

Charlie was very tempted to take up her offer. Her smile, her trusting blue eyes, made him ask himself "Why am I risking my dream woman for some heroin?" But he just couldn't. He was too weak. Instead he gave Claire an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry Claire, I haven't really been feeling well lately," He lied in what he hoped was a convincing tone, "I was just on my way to see Jack about it,"

"Oh," Claire said, looking first disappointed, then worried, "Are you sure you're going to be ok? I'll come with you,"

"No, Claire, I don't think that's such a good idea," Charlie said hurriedly. Then, seeing the hurt in her eyes, he added, "I'm sorry, I just don't want you or the baby getting sick,"

She sighed, "Oh, all right. But as soon as you're feeling better, I want you back here on the beach," She smiled and patted his arm before walking back to Kate and her baby son.

_That was way too close, _Charlie thought as he headed into the woods, veering off the path to the caves and heading towards the plane. He was still a little tense, fearful that Locke would come leaping out of the bushes at any moment, tackling him to try and rid him of the drugs. He shook the silly idea out of his head. Then he heard something. A rustling in the bushes.

He whirled around, but saw nothing, "Who's there?"

And then he heard it. Faint at first, but steadily growing stronger. Whispering. Coming from all directions. Charlie's chest tightened with fear. And then, almost as suddenly as it started, it just…stopped.

"I'm hearing things," He muttered, "Lack of sleep or something…that must be it,"

But, deep in his heart, he knew that was not true. It was the whispering that Sayid had claimed to hear, the whispering the mad French woman talked about. Maybe those bloody Others he was so determined not to believe in, maybe they actually did exist. He shuddered at the thought, and quickly pushed the idea out of his head. He pressed on towards the plane, mow even tenser than before.

He sighed with relief at reaching the plane without any more incidents. Now all he had to do was get in, get the drugs, get out, and hightail it back before someone realized he was gone.

He slipped inside, shuddering at the sight of Boone's blood spattered across the ground. He grabbed one of the statues. Just then, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, as the eerie feeling that he was not alone swept over him. He looked around, but saw no one.

_You're just being paranoid, Charlie,_ He told himself, _No one followed you_.

He quickly raised the statue and brought it down on one of the boxes, shattering the painted ceramic figure. He tipped the drugs out and shoved them into his pocket. He was reaching for another one when he heard a faint female voice.

"Who's there?"

Charlie must have leapt a foot into the air. His head hit the roof of the plane, and he swore. He whirled around, searching for the source of the voice.

"I should ask you the same thing. And where are you?" He asked, trying to sound more confident than he actually was. Just because the girl sounded weak didn't mean she actually was.

"The cockpit," The voice replied weakly.

Nervously, Charlie edged his way towards the cockpit, almost afraid of what he would find. As he looked inside, his fear subsided a bit. The voice belonged to a girl who looked about 14. She stared at him, obviously trying to look confident, but failing miserably. Her dirty blond hair was dirty and tangled. Her pale, freckled face was streaked with dirt, tears, and blood. Her navy blue windbreaker was covered in blood, and her jeans were dirty and torn as well. Her thin, almost emaciated figure told Charlie she had not eaten well in a long time. She was wearing a pair of dirty leather gloves, which was odd, but the only somewhat formidable part of her was her eyes, large, yellow, and almost catlike.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Charlie asked, feeling his confidence returning, bit by bit.

"Yeah, like I'd tell you that. I'd never reveal that kind of thing to a complete stranger," She spat, suddenly fierce.

"Would you be more inclined to trust me if I told you who I am?" Charlie replied as patiently as he could. This girl obviously had some trust issues.

The girl's face softened, and it looked for a moment like she was deep in thought (about what, Charlie could only guess). Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

"Alright, then," She decided, "Let's hear it"

And so, Charlie launched into the story of the crash, and how they had survived for so long, they had made many attempts to get off the island, how they had heard about the Others. He told her everything, about the hatch, about the raft, about the Tailies. Her expression remained unchanging, except for looking a nauseous when he told her Boone had died in that very plane.

"So will you tell me who you are now?" Charlie asked her.

"Will you take me back to this camp of yours?" The girl pleaded, her ferocity dropped completely, simply looking like the frail, weak young girl that she was, "if you help me, I _might_ trust you enough to tell you who I am,"

How could he say no to this girl? She looked so pale, helpless, even though she tried so hard to be fierce, "Of course you can. Come on, I don't want to be gone for too long. There are…dangerous things on this island,"

"Don't I know it," She muttered darkly, getting to her feet with great difficulty. She walked over to him, looking like each step caused her much pain, "Where to now?"

"Just follow me," Charlie said. Then, seeing her face screwed up in pain, he added, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She breathed, "I just got attacked by a wild boar a couple of days ago,"

"You should have Jack, our doctor, take a look at it when we get back to the camp,"

Her yellow eyes widened in fear, "No!" She cried. Then, calming down a bit, she added, "No, I'm fine, I just…erm…have a couple scratches and bruises, that's all,"

Charlie said nothing, just staring at her. He knew there was something she needed to hide, but what? For a while they just walked in silence, Charlie having to slow down every so often, to let her catch up. As they pressed on, Charlie noticed the girl growing weaker and weaker, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"I'm…fine," She gasped, sounding as if even talking caused her pain and spent her energy.

"No, you aren't," Charlie insisted, "You need to see Jack,"

"No!" She hissed angrily. She began to back away, trying to run, "You can't-I can't…" She stumbled, and fell against a tree. She slumped to the ground, her eyes closed, her breathing shallow.

Charlie swore under his breath, "Uhhh…Girl?" He called, rushing up to her, not sure what to call her. She didn't wake up. She was breathing, but it was very shallow. The would was probably infected or something. Should he run to get help, or should he try and carry her the short distance to the caves?

He decided to carry her. She was pretty small, and it was only a short distance. AS he picked her up, he was shocked at how light she was. He hurriedly carried her back to the caves.

Ignoring the stares from the other survivors, Charlie went straight to Kate.

"Where's Jack?" He panted.

"Over in his 'Doctor's office', going through the meds they brought back from the tail," Kate replied, "Charlie, what-?"

"I'll explain later," Charlie interrupted her. He rushed over to Jack.

"What the…" Jack began when he saw the girl in Charlie's arms.

"I found her in the jungle. She's injured. I think she may be one of the Others,"


	2. Her Secret

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) K+ for mild language (whole story) T for violence, language, and some sexual references

Charachters (in this chapter): Jack, Charlie, Sayid, unnamed dude in the hatch, Shannon, Claire, and "Mysterious Girl"

Warning: I forgot to mention in the last chapter, there is a charachter death warning for upcoming chapter, and yes, it is an important charachter

Ships:CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, JackKate or SawyerKate (I haven't decided which yet), HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. But I do own this storyline, and my "mysterious girl"

Author's note:Thanks to everyone who reveiwed the first chapter, which is NO ONE. Hmph. What if I say I won't post the next chapter until someone reveiws this one?

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"One of the Others? Are you sure?" Jack asked, taking the girl's limp body and laying her on the makeshift bed.

"No, but she refused to tell me who she is," Charlie replied. Then, suddenly, a huge realization swept over Charlie, but he didn't want to tell Jack about it.

"Do you know what happened to her?" Jack asked, oblivious to Charlie's epiphany.

"She said she got attacked by a wild boar,"

"Is that all she told you?"

Charlie nodded, "Well, I'll leave you with your patient," He left Jack to his work, needing to find Sayid and tell him what he had realized.

Charlie found Sayid in the hatch, on button duty with some guy…Charlie couldn't remember his name.

"Sayid," Charlie panted, "I need to talk to you,"

"What's wrong?" Sayid asked, his face showing deep concern.

"I found this girl out in the jungle…she refused to tell me her name…she was injured and she collapsed, so I took her back to camp," Charlie began, "Sayid, I think she may be the crazy French woman's daughter, Alex,"

Sayid's expression changed from concern to shock, "Rousseau's daughter? Where is she?"

"She's back at the caves," Charlie replied, "come on, we can send down a replacement when we get back to the caves.

**Back with our dear friend, Jack…**

Jack watched as Charlie left, and then turned his attention back to his patient. Wearing a windbreaker like that in this heat, he wouldn't have been surprised if her fainting was partly because of heatstroke. He unzipped the windbreaker and pulled it off her slender body-then he just barely bit back a yell of shock.

Underneath the windbreaker, she was wearing a black t-shirt with a huge gash on her left side. That explained all the blood. But that wasn't the part that scared Jack so much. Protruding from each shoulder blade, through large slits cut in the tee, were two…wings. Dark gray with lighter speckles; large feathery wings folded close into her back.

"What the…?" Jack whispered. He struggled to pull her shirt off, a difficult task with her wings in the way. He stared in awe. They were indeed real. His fingers traced the place where they connected to her shoulder blades.

Then he snapped back to reality. He was treating her wound. He cleaned the gash and found that it wasn't as bad as it looked. But it probably was infected. He felt her forehead and sure enough, she had a fever. He wrapped a bandage around her wound, then fished out the antibiotics and gave them to her. Just then, he heard Charlie's voice outside the tarp hiding his little "office".

"How is she? Can Sayid and I come in?"

"Um…yeah. There's something you should see," Jack replied. Wordlessly, he gestured toward the sleeping girl and her…abnormalities.

"Bloody hell…" Charlie breathed, his face pale, his eyes wide with shock.

"Is this her? Is this Alex?" Sayid asked in barely more than a whisper, "She does look quite a bit like Rousseau,"

Charlie nodded faintly, "I wonder what the gloves are hiding."

"We'll just have to wait until she wakes up," Jack sighed.

**One hour later…**

She opened her eyes and blinked. Where was she? For a moment, she thought she was back with…them. But as she rid her bleary eyes of the sleep, she could see that she was not back in the lab. She sat up and stretched. Then a horrid realization hit her.

_Where was her windbreaker!_

She was wearing her black tee, but her windbreaker was no where to be seen! Her wings were fully exposed! Then she realized she was in the corner of a cave, the rest of the cave hidden by a blue tarp. But she could hear voices, and see silhouettes moving. Just then, the man she had met before, Charlie appeared from the other side of the tarp. She let out a squeak of terror, trying to hide her wings from view.

"Oh, good, you're awake," He said, seeing her sitting up, "I'll go get Jack and Sayid,"

So the Charlie must know…and Jack, whoever he was, obviously knew…and the other man he mentioned, Sayid. But how many others knew?

She trembled as Charlie returned with a tall brown haired guy, and an Arab man.

The brown haired guy smiled at her, "Glad to see you awake. But you're gonna have to take it easy for a while. Your wound is infected and you have a fever,"

She didn't say anything; she just slid as far away from them as the cave walls would permit.

"You don't have to be worried. We trust you, and you can trust us. Your wings don't matter. We've seen weirder things on this island," he continued, "My name is Jack, by the way, and that's Sayid," He gestured towards the Arab man.

"What is your name?" Sayid asked, looking a little too curious for her taste.

She shrank away. She still didn't trust them.

Charlie placed a hand on her arm, "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you,"

In a flash, her gloves were off and on the ground, revealing normal looking hands, but as they soon saw, with long, retractable claws. She dug her claws into Charlie's arm.

"Don't. Touch. Me." She said through gritted teeth (which the guys noticed were unnaturally long and sharp).

"Yeeouch! Okay! I'm sorry!" Charlie cried, backing away from her.

"We know you have been though a lot," Sayid began, "But maybe we can help you. Though you may feel like one, you are not a monster. We were hoping perhaps you could help us discover some of the island's secrets, so we can survive here,"

To their surprise, her eyes filled with tears. But she bit them back, not willing to show weakness. She sighed.

"My name," She said, "is Alex,"

Sayid and Charlie exchanged a significant glance as their suspicions were confirmed.

"Where did you come from?" Sayid asked her.

Alex sighed irritably, "Since I doubt that will be the last personal question you ask me, how about I just give you my life story and we'll go from there?" She said sarcastically.

"That sounds good," Charlie replied.

Alex blinked at him, "okay then," And so, she launched into her story:

"When I was a baby, I was stolen from my family that had crashed on this island. I think they all died after that." She stopped at the look on Sayid's face, "What? Do you know something about my family?"

Sayid shook his head, "Go on. I will tell you later,"

"Anyway, I was taken to this lab as a baby and I've basically spent my life in a cage. When I'm not having tests done, that is. I have bird and cat DNA in me, they've had many attempts to clone me (all of which have failed; they don't really have the cloning down yet). I've had so many surgeries I've lost track of what they did to me…if anything. And they do other tests too…they make this chemical things, and they force feed them to me…it's awful,"

The guys nodded sympathetically, and waited for Alex to continue her story.

"But I did have one friend. A girl named Paige who is several years older than me. Whenever it was her week to do the graveyard shift, she would teach me how to read and write and stuff like that. But she didn't tell me a lot about the company that was doing this to me. She knew even if she did help me, she could get in a lot of trouble for being a part of an illegal operation like this. She didn't even tell me the name. But she did help me escape,"

"But why did you wait so long to escape?" Charlie asked.

"Well, for one thing, Paige didn't start working there until about four years ago, when I was twelve. And another thing…a couple weeks ago, one of your people showed up in the cage next to mine. A boy named Walt. He told me about the crash, and how he was kidnapped from the raft, and so I decided to escape, knowing there were people on the island who could help me, and I could help him. I didn't want him to end up like I have, spending years with the scientists and becoming hideously deformed,"

"They have Walt?" Jack exclaimed.

"Where is the headquarters for this place? How soon can we leave?" Sayid asked, his voice rising with excitement.

"Hold it, hold it, hold it! You can't leave for a while. If we were gonna go and rescue Walt, we would have to go at night, so the place wouldn't be crawling with scientists. Second, we'd have to go when Paige was on night duty; any other scientist would raise the alarm. And Paige is on night duty once a month, on the 5th of that month, through the 10th of that month," Alex explained irritably, "What's the date today,"

Jack, the ever-organized doctor, pulled out a pocket planner, "November 18th," He sighed. Charlie and Sayid looked disappointed.

"Well, you have almost a month to prepare," Alex said, "And, by the way, the entrance to the lab is in the Black Rock,"

"You mean the ship?" Alex nodded, "Why?"

"I dunno. I guess they thought it would hide it well,"

Jack looked thoughtful, "Well, okay then. I need to go tell the rest of camp about you, so they don't panic when they see a stranger with…um…wings. You should get some rest,"

With that, the three men turned to leave. But before he left, Jack turned to face Alex.

"One more thing," He said suddenly, "Why were you just sleeping in the middle of the jungle? You, of all people, should know what's out there,"

Alex looked confused, "I wasn't. I took shelter in that old plane, the one with all the little statues in it,"

"Hmmm," Jack said, "I'll have to have a word with Charlie about that," And with that, he _finally_ left Alex in peace to go address the survivors.

"ATTENTION, EVERYONE!" He yelled. That shut them up. And so, he launched into the story of how Charlie had found Alex in the plane, and where she had grown up, and so on. Everyone had a million questions, of course, but Jack simply had to tell them to wait until she was healthy and ask her.

During the chaos after Jack made his announcement, Claire showed up in the caves.

"What's going on?" She asked Shannon, who was standing nearby, "Where's Charlie?"

"Up with Jack," Shannon replied, "He found the French lady's daughter in the plane where-," Her voice caught on the word, and she took a deep breath before continuing, "The plane with all the drugs in the little statues,"

"Drugs in the statues?" Claire asked, confused. She knew about the plane, but she had never heard anything about statues.

"Yeah, in the plane, there are a whole bunch of Virgin Mary statues with heroin inside," Shannon explained.

And then the pieces began to slide together. Why Charlie had lied to her…the ceramic statue in Charlie's pack…and the fuzzy memory she had of someone (she didn't remember who) telling her they used to be a heroin addict.

Claire's head began to feel fuzzy. Charlie, the man she had basically trusted her and her child's life with…he was a heroin addict. How could he do this to her? She had trusted him! She felt tears starting in the corners of her eyes.

"Thanks, Shannon," She mumbled distantly. She looked up at Charlie through blurry eyes, and found that she could not take it any longer. Tears slid down her face as she set off at a dead run back towards the beach.

_To be continued…_


	3. Worthless Ex Rock God

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) K

Charachters (in this chapter): Jack, Charlie, Sayid, Claire, Alex, Hurley, and Shannon.

Warning: I forgot to mention in the last chapter, there is a charachter death warning for upcoming chapter, and yes, it is an important charachter

Ships:CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, JackKate or SawyerKate (I haven't decided which yet), HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. But I do own this storyline, and my version of Alex

Author's note:Thanks to everyone who reveiwed the first chapter. I'm going to try to answer as many reveiws as possible.

**Krisinmtka:** Thanks for being my first reveiwer! I'm afraid the rescue mission isn't going to happen for a while, as you will soon see, the survivors are going to have anough on their hands. As for reuniting mother and daughter, that is going to happen soon!

**SGCFan4ever:** As you requested! ;)

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Charlie saw Claire run off in tears. He instantly forgot what Jack was talking about, and instead ran after Claire.

He found her on the beach in her tent. She was holding Aaron and silently sobbing. He knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," He said softly, "You okay?"

"Don't touch me," She spat, her eyes filled with pure hatred.

Charlie didn't expect this from anyone, let alone Claire. He stood up and took a step back. Claire set Aaron in his crib, and stood up as well.

"I trusted you," She glared at him through red-rimmed eyes, "I trusted you, and then you go behind my back just for some crummy heroin,"

"Claire…" Charlie began, but faltered. He had no excuse.

"I should have known," Her voice was shaking, "You're just a worthless ex rock god. I should have expected it,"

"Claire," Charlie pleaded, "Claire, listen to me,"

She turned her back on him.

"Go away," She whispered, "And don't come back until you're clean,"

Charlie wanted to plead, to get down on his knees and beg Claire's forgiveness, but he knew that wasn't going to happen. So instead he walked out of Claire's tent dejectedly, and headed to the caves, where he located Jack.

"Jack," He said miserably, "I need help,"

**Several Days Later…**

After what seemed like _ages_ to her, Jack finally deemed Alex healthy. She immediately went to find Sayid.

"Sayid?" She asked nervously, when she found him tending the signal fire on the beach, "While I was giving you my full biography, you looked like you knew something about my family, and you said you'd tell me later,"

Sayid stood up and faced Alex.

"Sixteen years ago, your parents and some others were on a science expedition. Your mother was several monthes pregnant with you. Their boat crashed here, and they had to live here," Sayid explained, "Your mother gave birth to you, and just a couple weeks later, the scientists came and kidnapped you. Then everyone on the expedition got sick and died…except for your mother. She is still alive, somewhere in this island,"

Sayid would never forget the look on Alex's face at that last bit of information.

"Where is she? Can we go find her? Does she remember me? Have you met her?" Alex began to sound like a small child on Christmas Morning.

"Your mother is very desperate to get you back," Sayid smiled at her. Then his face darkened, "She tried to kidnap Aaron, Claire's baby son to trade for you,"

Alex went pale.

"The scientists, before I left, were talking about…coming to get the baby,"

Sayid's eyes widened in shock.

"Whatever we do, we cannot tell Claire about this," He decided.

"Tell me what?" A voice came from behind them.

They whirled around to see Claire holding Aaron.

Alex went, if possible, even paler than she was before.

"You!" She whispered, "You were brought into the lab about a month ago…when you were still pregnant. But then they accidentally erased your memory, so they left you to die in the forest,"

Claire looked terrified.

"What happened? What did they do to me?"

Alex didn't say anything, looking away uncomfortably.

"What did they do to me?"

"They didn't do anything. They did stuff to your baby," Alex mumbled

"What did they do?" Claire asked, her voice sounding tearful.

"I don't know. I didn't see them do anything; I just heard them talk about it," Alex said uncomfortably.

"There's something you're not telling me" Claire said softly.

Alex sighed.

"They put a microchip in your baby, so they could retrieve him when he was ready,"

Claire let out a squeak of horror and Charlie, who was watching them from nearby, made a move as if to get up and comfort her, but clearly thought better of it.

"What do you mean by ready? When will that be?" Claire whispered.

"Judging by the conversations I heard before I left, it will be very soon," Alex mumbled guiltily.

Claire let out a small scream and clapped a hand over her mouth. Sayid, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.

"Claire, do not worry. We can assign one of those who knows how to use a gun to protect you and your baby,"

"Yeah, the scientists aren't that scary," Alex smiled wryly, "When you think about it, they're just a bunch of geeks in white coats and thick glasses,"

Claire didn't even crack a smile.

"What do they want with my baby?" She asked tearfully, "Why is Aaron so important?"

"I wish I knew the answer to that," Alex sighed.

Claire looked at Sayid.

"You promise that Aaron will be safe?" She whispered.

"Of course," Sayid said comfortingly. Then, after Claire thanked them and left, Alex turned back to Sayid.

"How soon can we leave to go find my mother?" The excitement was back in her unique yellow eyes.

"We can go tomorrow, if you wish,"

"Oh, can we? That would be so wonderful! Thank you so much!" Alex threw her arms around Sayid's neck, "You have no idea how much this means to me,"

Little did they know, Charlie wasn't the only one who was watching them. Shannon had been keeping an eye on them as well, wishing she could be the one throwing her arms around Sayid's neck. Ever since her stepbrother's death, she had grown farther away from Sayid. Then there was the responsibility with the hatch, and now Alex.

"Why do you have to be so damn talented, Sayid?" She whispered miserably, "I miss you, and you're not even gone!"

Aside from the fact that she was taking away Shannon's time with Sayid, there was something about Alex that she just didn't like. She didn't trust her.

**Very early the next morning...**

_Finally…A chance to stretch my wings_

Alex stood alone on the beach. The sun was just barely in the sky, and a soft breeze was ruffling her dirty blonde curls. She unfurled her wings, and stretched them to their full span. Jeez, that felt good. After being injured for about a week and not being able to fly, they were so stiff.

Suddenly, a hard gust of wind whooshed by, and Alex grabbed hold of the chance. She leapt into the air, and flapped her wings hard. Soon she was high above the island, soaring and diving. She let out a whoop of joy. It was the first time she had ever gotten to fly freely. Whenever the scientists made her fly, it was to measure how high or how fast or whatever. After she had escaped, she was flying to survive, to get away from the polar bears. Here, she was truly free for the first time, and it felt amazing.

And the other thing that kept Alex elated was the thought of finding her mother. She had lived for almost seventeen years without love, but now…maybe that would change.

She was jerked out of her daydreams when she heard shouts from below. The castaways were waking up…she hadn't wanted them to see her in flight. It felt sort of private. But, of course, with forty-some people on the island, it was hard not to be seen. With a sigh, she began a steep dive downward. She landed neatly on the beach, aware of many eyes in her direction.

"Dude! That was amazing!" A fat guy with curly hair was looking at Alex in awe.

People were murmuring their agreement, and then they began asking Alex questions about her flying. Sayid managed to break through the crowd.

"Alex!" He called, "Are you ready to go?"

Alex nodded, her face filled with excitement.

"Yeah, come on,"

And so the crowd began to wander off, and Alex and Sayid began to make their way down the beach. They planned to do as Hurley had tried to, follow the cable.

"Sayid!"

They turned around to see Shannon calling after them.

"I'm coming with you,"


	4. Alex to the Rescue

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) T for violence

Characters (in this chapter): Alex, Sayid, Shannon, Jack

Warning: Character death warning, and major cliffy warning for chappies 4, 5, 6, and 7 (that's as far as I've planned out the story)

Ships: CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, JackKate or SawyerKate (I haven't decided which yet), HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. But I do own this storyline, and my version of Alex

Author's Note: Thank you, SGCFan4Ever, at least I have one loyal fan who will review every chapter. And here's the reply

**SGCFan4ever**: The scientists taught Alex basic things to keep her from becoming feral, and she could talk to other experiments in nearby cages, or to her friend Paige, so she could have learned it in any of those ways. That was a good question, though.

Alex and Sayid exchanged glances.

"Shannon," Sayid began, "I am not sure if that is such a good idea,"

"Why not?" Shannon asked stubbornly, "I feel useless sitting around here,"

Sayid sighed, "Fine, but I don't want anyone other than you coming. I don't want to make Rousseau feel threatened,"

Shannon nodded, and fell into step behind Sayid.

"So we're just going to follow the cable?" Alex asked, after a moment of silent walking.

Sayid nodded, "Your mother could be anywhere. Our best hope is to follow the cable, and pray that it will lead us to her shelter,"

Alex was silent for a moment. Then, in a much quieter, more thoughtful, slightly timid voice, she added, "Sayid? Did my mother ever say anything about my father,"

"Only that he got ill, along with the rest of the expedition," Sayid said sadly. He conveniently "forgot" to mention that Rousseau had actually killed all her teammates because they were all ill.

"So he's dead?" Alex asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, Alex, but I'm afraid so," Sayid murmured.

Alex didn't reply. Her face got thoughtful, but in kind of a sad way. Sayid shot her a look of concern.

Throughout this conversation, Shannon was regretting coming. She was beginning to feel out of place already, like a third arm. But she had to keep an eye on Alex, especially when she was with Sayid. For all Shannon knew, Alex could be taking Sayid to the Others. Sure Sayid was strong, but Alex had those awful wings and claws, and could probably overpower Sayid fairly easily.

Just then, Sayid spotted a dark strip imbedded in sand. He rushed over to it, and pulled it up.

"This is it," He said, "The cable we will be following,"

Without waiting for a reply, he began following it into the woods. Shannon and Alex hurried after him.

They followed it for what seemed like hours, to no avail. They narrowly avoided several traps, but the journey was relatively uneventful.

"Um, I don't think she's here," Shannon finally said.

Sayid ignored her, "She has got to be somewhere,"

"Did you ever think that the cable may be here just to lead people to her _traps,_ not her shelter?" Shannon replied irritably.

Sayid sighed. "Maybe you are right,"

"We can't stop looking!" Alex pleaded.

"She is right," Sayid declared, "We still have several hours of daylight left,"

"But maybe we should look somewhere other than along this cable?" Alex suggested.

"Yes," Sayid decided, "We are not making any progress this way,"

And so, they continued on their search, looking for any signs that Danielle had been there; foot print, a snapped twig, anything.

"Did you hear that?" Shannon hissed.

"Hear what?" Sayid asked.

"Shhh! Listen! I think I hear it too," Alex declared. They were silent for a moment. Sure enough, they heard distant crashing.

"Where is it coming from?" Shannon's eyes were wide with fear as the crashing grew louder and stronger.

There wasn't time for her questions to be answered. A loud crash sounded from what couldn't be more than ten or twenty yards away.

"RUN!" Alex screamed. Sayid and Shannon didn't need to be told twice. They bolted, running frantically through the trees, the thing hot on their tails.

"Alex," Sayid panted, "Do you think you are strong enough to fly out of here with Shannon?"

"I-I think so," Alex's voice was laced with fear, "But what about you?"

"Do not worry about me, I was in the war, I have probably seen worse," Sayid assured her, "Besides, I brought a gun with me,"

Alex nodded reluctantly, and without another word, she unfurled her wings and took off, catching Shannon under her arms as she carried her through the air, flying faster than she ever had before. She had to get Shannon to safety, and get back to help Sayid.

She landed in a treetop not to far from the beach.

"Do you think you can climb down and get to the beach? I need to get back and help Sayid," She asked her seriously. Shannon nodded. Just then, there was a gunshot, a loud clank, and a yell of pain. Then Sayid's body went flying through the air, above the treetops.

Shannon screamed, and her breathing became shallow and raspy.

"Asthma…"

Alex swore. Her chest tightened with fear and helplessness.

"Shannon, this is really important. I need you to breathe deeply," Alex said in a panicky voice. Shannon attempted to take a deep breath, "Good. Now, do you have anything like an inhaler, or something that will help?" Alex's voice was rising with panic. Every moment they wasted was another moment Sayid lay bleeding to death. Luckily, the monster seemed to be finished, and was now crashing away.

Shannon nodded again, and pulled out a small bag of the eucalyptus gunk.

"Good. Now I'm going to go get Sayid. Please, please, don't panic, go to the beach, if you don't make it back to camp on your own, I'll come back for you, but _stay on the beach_. The monster never comes out of the woods," And with that, Alex took off towards the spot where Sayid had been flung.

She found him fairly easily. He was lying in a crumpled heap near the base of a tree. He had a large gash across his forehead and head, his body was scratched, battered, and bruised, and his leg was bent at an angle it was not supposed to be bent at, clearly broken.

"Oh, god," Alex whispered. She rushed up to his broken body, tears filling her eyes. Then she let out a whoop of joy. Ever so slightly, she saw his chest rise and fall. She gently reached for his wrist, and sure enough, she felt a faint pulse. Now all she had to do was get him back to Jack.

She stood beside him for a moment, chewing her bottom lip, trying to figure out the best way to get him back. She wasn't worried about not being strong enough, she was much stronger than she looked, but she was worried about hurting him. Finally, she just decided to carry him the same way she had carried Shannon.

She gingerly lifted him, and took off as fast as she could. She didn't have a moment to lose. Sayid was dying as she flew, and the sooner she got him to Jack, the more chance he would have of surviving.

Finally, the beach camp came into view, and she dove down where she could see the caves hidden beneath the treetops. Her pounding heart slowed a bit as she dove down farther, and managed to fly through the trees and land in the caves. As soon as people saw Sayid's broken body, they began to panic.

"Jack! Where's Jack!" Alex shrieked. Sayid was still breathing, but it was even fainter and shallower than before.

"Over here!" Jack called. He stepped into the main part of the caves, "What's the trou-oh my God!" He rushed over to Alex and helped her Cary the Arab man over to the makeshift hospital bed. Then he shut his eyes and Alex could only faintly hear his voice.

"One…two…three…four…five…"

Then he opened his eyes again.

"Alex what happened? And where's Shannon? Hurley told me she went with you and Sayid,"

Alex quickly told him what happened as Jack went about cleaning Sayid's wounds.

"Do you have any idea of what this 'thing' is?" Jack asked her.

"Yeah," Alex replied, "It's like a part robot, part animal thing that usually guards the headquarters. The scientists can program in to do certain things. Sometimes they make the experiments try to fight it," She shuddered at the memory.

Just then, they were interrupted by a loud scream.

"WHERE IS HE?"

They turned to see Shannon running into the caves, followed by much of the beaches dwellers. Shannon ran over to where Sayid lay.

"Oh my god, he's dead, and it's all my fault!" She sobbed.

"Shannon, Shannon, calm down," Alex soothed, "He's not dead,"

"He's not?" Shannon looked up.

"No, he's not, but for me to save him, you need to calm down and don't be all over him," Jack managed to keep his voice steady.

"Okay," Shannon said in barely more than a whisper. She knelt next to him and took his bloody hand in her own, "But don't let him die like you let Boone die,"

Jack tried unsuccessfully to hide the pain and hurt in his eyes.

"I won't let him die, Shannon, I promise,"

After many long hours of work, Jack finally stood up and addressed the many worried onlookers.

"I've done everything I can. He's unconscious, maybe in a coma, it's hard to tell without the right equipment. There may have been some brain damage, but again, I don't have the right equipment to tell. If he survives the night, he'll probably be okay," Jack said wearily.

"Jack?" Shannon asked in a small voice, "Can he hear me when he's unconscious?"

"I'm not sure. It's different for every case," he replied.

Shannon nodded, and then turned her eyes back to Sayid.

"I love you," She whispered, "So, so much. I wish I could have told you before now. And now you're dying, because you wanted me to be safe. Please, please wake up,"

_To be continued…_

A/N: Ooh! Cliffy! Next chapter, find out whether or not Sayid survives (I figured since Shannon is always the one killed off, cuz of all the spoilers, I'd be unique, and do it to Sayid instead!) w00t!Don't you luv me?


	5. I Am Alex

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) K+

Characters (in this chapter): Shannon, Sayid, Alex, Jack, Rousseau

Warning: Character death warning

Ships: CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, JackKate or SawyerKate (I haven't decided which yet), HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. If I did, I would be the richest sevvie at my school

Author's Note: Thanks to all my reviewers! That's what keeps me going. I'm afraid I won't be writing much this week though, I have a volleyball and a soccer tournament. Anyway, here are replies.

**Lostrocksdonotoppose: **James Patterson rocks! _Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment_ is the best book ever!

**SGCFan4ever: **Hey, it's not your fault I don't get a lot of reviewers!

**Krisinmtka: **It was fun coming up with the story about Alex's past…but just wait until you hear my version of her mother's past!

**Meagan4dominic: **Oh, it'll make Alex's live with the castaways a hell of a lot harder if Sayid dies…especially after chapters 6 and 7…I'm so evil

* * *

That night was quite possibly the longest in many of the castaways' lives, even including the fist night the spent on the island. Nearly everyone spent the night in the caves, but few people actually slept. The caves were silent, albeit Shannon's whispers to Sayid and Aaron's occasion crying.

The air in the caves was thick with tension. Sayid's life was hanging by a thread, and everyone knew that. Alex was flexing her claws impatiently, Jack was pacing around the caves, and Shannon was continuously murmuring "I love you" and "Please hang on," to Sayid.

The sun rose, and the sky was filled with glorious reds, pinks, and golds, but it did little to lighten the mood. Sayid was still alive, but just barely. Several hours passed and nothing happened.

Just, his eyelids fluttered open, and a whisper escaped his lips.

"Shannon?"

Shannon screamed.

"Oh my god! Sayid!" Shannon shrieked, "You're awake! Oh, thank god," She began to sob hysterically. People actually began cheering in hearing that he was alive.

Sayid smiled weakly, at a loss for what to say.

"How are you feeling? Are you okay? Do you need anything? Does anything hurt?" Shannon asked him, her sobs subsiding.

"Shannon, I doubt you have slept or eaten since I was injured," Sayid murmured, "Get some sleep, eat something and then come and talk to me,"

"Yeah, Sayid's right," Jack added, relief etched across his face, "This was a traumatic experience for you, you need some rest,"

Shannon nodded, but didn't get up immediately. Her eyes were locked on Sayid's dark ones.

"I love you," She whispered. She bent down and gently kissed his lips.

"I love you too, Shannon," He murmured after they had broken apart, "Now go get some sleep,"

She just smiled at him, before walking off to do as he had asked her.

"So, how are you feeling?" Jack immediately asked Sayid, "Are you in any pain? Do-"

Sayid cut Jack off, "Jack I'm fine. I'm in a little bit of pain, but I'm sure that's to be expected. All I really want is to know what happened,"

Jack nodded, "Well, that's probably for Alex to tell you. She saved you, after all,"

Jack beckoned for Alex to come over to Sayid, and then he left the two alone.

"Thank you for saving me," Sayid said softly.

Alex smiled, "Thank you for waking up,"

"How long was I unconscious," He asked.

"About 15 hours,"

"Do you have any idea what happened? All I remember is shooting the thing…I didn't even get a good look at it…and then something hit my head…and that's the last thing I remember,"

And so Alex proceeded to tell Sayid exactly what had happened, from the moment she flew away with Shannon until he woke up. Sayid's dark eyes got progressively wider and wider with shock as the story went on.

"You were very brave," He murmured, "And so was Shannon. I'll have to tell her that,"

"I wasn't brave," Alex's voice trembled, "I had never been more scared in my life!"

"Alex, Alex, Alex," Sayid said softly, "Bravery is being able to face what you are scared of, not being fearless,"

Alex nodded, apparently at a loss for words.

"I'm sorry we didn't find your mother," Sayid added.

Alex smiled, "Its okay. At least you have a good excuse,"

Sayid laughed softly, "Yes, indeed I do," Then his expression got more serious, "I owe my life to you, Alex,"

Alex looked uncomfortable.

"Other experiment have been killed by it before, Sayid. I could never let that happen without trying to stop it,"

Sayid nodded.

"Alex, I'm guessing you didn't sleep at all last night either-" Sayid began.

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you're gonna say," Alex laughed, "I'll go get some rest,"

"Good girl," Sayid smiled at her, and she left him.

As Alex went and sat on her makeshift bed, she tried to sleep, but sleep simply would not come. All the tension from the night before was still pent up inside her, and she didn't have much of a chance of getting to sleep like that.

She stood up and walked out of the caves. She stood for a moment, breathing in the scents of the jungle, letting it ease the knots of tension her body was tangled into. She pulled off her windbreaker and tied it tightly around her waist. Then she spread her winds and took off. She shot high into the sky, watching the caves below her grow smaller and smaller.

Finally the knots of tension unraveled. Sayid was okay, she was okay, and Shannon was okay. Her efforts had paid off. If only she had found her mother…

There was something that still worried her, though. Alex knew a lot of the castaways didn't trust her. Shannon, for one, definitely didn't. And the stares a lot of the others gave her…it was hard. Back at the lab, she was just one of the experiments. With the castaways, she was different, an outcast. Bird-girl, the crazy French chick's daughter, freak, one of them…her human ears betrayed her cat-like hearing. She heard what they said about her behind cupped hands, and it was a different kind of abuse than what she experienced the first 16 years of her life. She could stand physical abuse, but her heart and mind were still tender and unprepared for the emotional abuse she suffered with the castaways.

Maybe be free wasn't all cracked up to be.

She had been flying too long. Her mouth was dry, and she searched the grounds below for some sort of a stream. She was far away from the camp, and wasn't ready to go back just yet. She spotted a stream running below, and swooped down to land in the tall grass next to it. It was chilly, so she pulled her windbreaker back on. As she bent to drink from the stream, she noticed the water was muddy, but she ignored that, having had to drink and eat worse crap at other points in her life.

She heard a rustling in the bushed behind her, and stood up quickly. She took sniffed the air. She could smell another human, adult, probably female (another one of her unique cat like abilities).

"Show yourself!" She cried, whirling around.

She heard another rustling, from behind her, and she turned. She could see the shadowy figure of a tall woman holding a shotgun standing in the trees.

"Who are you?" Alex asked fearfully.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Alex could hear the woman's French accent. As she stepped out of the shadows, Alex could see her slightly insane look, and her fierce expression of longing.

"Where is my Alex?" She asked harshly.

Alex's yellow eyes grew wide. Was this…her mother? She took a moment to regain her voice, and then spoke.

"I am Alex,"


	6. You Don't Have To Be Alone Anymore

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) K+

Characters (in this chapter): Alex, Danielle, Jack, Shannon, and Sayid

Warning: Character death

Ships: CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, JackKate or SawyerKate (I haven't decided which yet), HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost. If I did…that would be cool.

Author's Note: Hah! I was able to get another chapter written after the volleyball tournament! And I got my math homework done! No more Cs for me! Although we lost the volleyball tournament…

**SGCFan4ever: **(bows) Thank you, thank you.

**Meagan4dominic: **Thanks, I love writing cliffy endings…and I can't reply to the rest of your review without giving away the events of this and next chapter…

* * *

The woman's eyes widened in shock.

"Alex?" She took a step closer, "It s truly you? After all these years, you've come back to me?"

Alex's throat tightened. She nodded, unable to speak.

Danielle was now right in front of Alex; she cupped Alex's cheek in her rough and calloused hand.

"You are so beautiful, you look so much like your father," A tear rolled down Rousseau's cheek.

This was the moment she had dreamed of all her life. Having a mother. After years of pain, abuse, and loneliness, all she wanted was someone to hold her, to stroke her hair, to tell her everything was going to be alright. Tears filled Alex's eyes as well, and let them spill down her cheeks.

Danielle pulled Alex into a tight hug.

"Oh, Alex, my baby, I knew you were still alive. I never gave up on you," She said in a choked voice.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you…mom," Alex whispered, tasting the new and unfamiliar word. It felt wonderful to say, yet weird to a woman she had met only moments before. She decided to lay off of it a bit until she knew her mother a bit better.

"Where have you been all these years? Where did they take you?" Danielle asked tearfully.

Alex pulled away from Danielle and chewed nervously on her bottom lip.

"That's kind of a long story"

Danielle nodded.

"Are you hungry? Tired? If you wish, I could take you back to my shelter." Danielle suggested eagerly. After 16 years alone, Alex's mother seemed awfully eager to dote on her daughter, so Alex gratefully accepted the offer. Her stomach growled, and she realized she hadn't eaten anything since before she left with Sayid to look for her mother.

Danielle led Alex to her shelter, which was hidden in an underground dugout like thing. All of Danielle's various belongings were strewn everywhere. There was one small makeshift bed, lots of boxes, various suitcases, and a crudely made wooden table, with a crate for a chair. Sitting on the table was a small box.

"Sit down," Danielle gestured towards the crate. Alex did so, "Are you hungry?" Alex nodded. Danielle opened one of the crates and pulled some fruit out. She handed a piece to Alex, and then bit into one herself.

"Will you tell me what happened now?" Danielle asked.

Alex nodded reluctantly, "There's one very important thing you need to know first, though," She set down her half-eaten papaya.

She watched her mother's eyes grow wide with horror as she slipped off her windbreaker to reveal her ashy gray wings.

"What? How-" Danielle faltered.

"There's more," Alex sighed. She showed her mother her long, sharp claws.

Danielle gasped, and Alex cringed, waiting for her to start screaming that she was a freak and a monster. But, though she looked horrorstruck, there was pity in her eyes as well.

"Oh, my baby," Danielle murmured, "Who did this to you? Was it…the Others?"

Alex nodded. Then she proceeded to tell Danielle everything that she had told Charlie, Sayid and Jack. Danielle was quiet throughout the whole story, sitting in silent shock.

"They did all this to you?" Danielle asked, fuming with silent anger.

Alex nodded grimly.

"And, if you want to help, you can get revenge in a couple weeks by helping us rescue Walt," She grinned slightly.

"Us…meaning the other survivors from the plane crash" It was more of a statement than a question. Danielle looked uncomfortable.

Alex nodded, then remembered what Sayid had told her, about Danielle taking Aaron.

"Oh, don't worry about them not trusting you. I'll make them trust you if I have to," Alex smiled at her.

Danielle sighed, still looking worried.

"Anyway, enough about me, let's hear about _you_," Alex declared, "What have you been doing all these years? Will you," Alex hesitated a bit, "Tell me about my father?"

Danielle smiled.

"When I was twenty-one, I met your father, Robert. I was studying cartography. He was American born, but had lived in France most of his life, so you have some American blood in you. He was twenty three. We fell in love almost immediately, and were married merely a year later," Danielle began.

"Many said they had never seen a couple more madly in love than us. When I was 24, I gave birth to our first daughter, Sophia Marie Rousseau. Robert and I were so happy, and our lives were perfect for a few years. Then, when little Sophie was three years old, Robert and I left for the expedition," Danielle's voice was sounding choked. Alex realized with a jolt of horror that this little girl, Sophia Marie, which her mother was talking about, was her sister. Alex listened eagerly for the next part of the story.

"I left Sophie with her (and your) grand-mère, my mother," Danielle's dropped to a tortured whisper, and Alex could only imagine the pain these memories caused her, "It was only supposed to be a two-week expedition. We were exploring this region because so many ships and planes had wrecked here. We heard the numbers being transmitted over a radio. Repeating over and over…4…8…15…16…23…42,"

Alex shivered. Charlie had told her about the numbers.

"As we approached the island, the storm hit. We shipwrecked on the island. We stayed on the beach for a while, hoping for rescue. Finally, we were forced to give up. We moved inland and created a camp there. It was around then that I realized that I was pregnant with you. I was terrified, but Robert promised he would be with me always…but he broke that promise," Danielle was fighting back tears at this point. Alex felt as if her heart was breaking at this point.

"We were not doing well. Ten people died in the first four months, and that was only from polar bears and the monster. Then the sickness began to set in," A tear made its way down Danielle's cheek.

"It was only a couple people at first. The sickness was sort of like rabies, they became wild, animalistic. The few that got it killed each other. We went a month with nothing, and then we thought we were safe. Then it came back, harder and fiercer than before. Half of us got it, and many of those who were not infected were killed by those who were. Robert, I and ten or so others fled, and hid in a different part of the woods. We thought we were safe, and we were for several monthes. Right before I gave birth to you, it came back. I thought we had seen its limit, but it was worse. The only sane one left was Robert, and I could tell he was only barely managing to fight it off. I gave birth to you amidst a camp of raving lunatics. It only got worse as time progressed, and Robert got infected too," She choked back a sob, "I killed them. All of them. Even your father,"

"You had no other choice," Alex whispered comfortingly.

"You're right," Danielle sighed, "I did it to protect you. But then you were taken away from me. They attacked me in the dead of night, and took you away,"

Alex's heart broke for her mother. She thought her own life had been awful and lonely, but it was nothing compared with what her mother had survived.

"So you've been alone for 16 years?" Alex asked.

Danielle shook her head, "Actually, there have been several plane and boat crashes since then. I met some of the survivors, but they all eventually died,"

"Well, Mom," Alex smiled at her, "You don't have to be alone anymore,"

**Back at the castaway's camp…**

"Hey, Jack, have you seen Alex anywhere?" Shannon asked.

Jack looked up at her, "No, I haven't seen her since this morning. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I just wanted to thank her for saving my and Sayid's lives. But I haven't seen her either. I'm getting a little worried, to tell you the truth,"

"I'm sure she's fine, Shannon," Jack reassured her, "She can take care of herself,"

Shannon still didn't look assured.

**Several hours later…**

"Alex has been gone ever since this morning. I'm getting worried about her," Shannon confessed to Sayid.

"Shannon, do not worry about her. She was able to save our lives; she can survive alone in the jungle. She's part feral cat, after all," Sayid told her.

Shannon sighed, "Yeah, Jack told me the same thing earlier. I guess I'm just over-worrying. The past 24 hours have been stressful,"

"I'm sure they have," Sayid said softly, taking her hands in his, "I heard you last night,"

Shannon's breath caught in her throat, "You did?"

Sayid nodded, "It is what kept me holding on. I knew I couldn't do that to you,"

"You're right," Shannon whispered, feeling her voice constrict, "I already lost Boone…losing you would be too much to bear," A tear slid down her cheek.

Sayid tenderly reached up and wiped it away, "You do not have to worry about that any more,"

**Meanwhile, at the beach camp…**

Night was falling and the castaways were retreating to their tents. It was cloudy, and the only light was that of the signal fire that kept burning and burning.

The camp fell silent as the last of the beach dwellers settled in for the night. It was peaceful, with the waves gently lapping at the shore. Then the peace was shattered.

It all started with a rustle in the bushes. No one paid any attention. Then there was a scream of fear, two shots, a yell of pain, and an infant's wail. The beach was awake in moments, rushing towards the source of the sounds-Claire's tent.

They were greeted by a horrifying sight. Claire's tent was illuminated by the flickering light of the torches people had the forethought to grab. Lying in the tent were two bodies. There was blood everywhere. Aaron's cradle was empty.


	7. Freckles

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) T (Just to be safe)

Characters (in this chapter): Charlie, Claire, Sawyer, Hurley, Ana Lucia, Jack, Shannon, Sayid, and Sun. This will probably be the only chapter that doesn't have Alex in it.

Warning: Character death (yes, there is going to be more death after the one in this chapter)

Ships: CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, JackKate or SawyerKate (I haven't decided which yet), HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost.

Author's Note: I feel powerful! I was the one who emailed them and got them to add the tailies to the character list for Lost! I also requested several other characters, Danielle, Rose, and Vincent, but out of those, only Vincent got added. But that's kinda cool since my next story is gonna be from Vincent's POV. Also, as a note for future chapters, I'm a writer, not a med student. Any medical stuff I talk about, I may not get it right, so just please ignore it. Thank you very much. Anyway, now to reply to the reviewers.

**SGCFan4ever: **Oh, yes, I am evil, most definitely. I am _very_ evil. IMHO, death and scandal make for a very interesting (I almost said 'fun' but thought better of it) story. This story will contain both of those, but only a little bit of the latter.

**L'ange des Miracles: **Thank you. But remember, it's just more than just oh-my-god Claire and Aaron. Remember, they were gonna assign someone to guard Claire and Aaron…there were two bodies on the ground in the tent (grins evilly)

**Hjr: **(bows) I am not worthy. Your story, Conflict with the Others, it much better than my writing will ever be. But thank you for the review.

* * *

"Oh my god! Claire!" Charlie exclaimed, rushing over to her. He knelt down and cradled her head in his lap.

But most people were not paying attention to Charlie and Claire. They were looking at the blood covered body of the person who had been on duty protecting Claire.

"Freckles…" Sawyer whispered. He pushed his way through the crowd and over to her, keeling beside her.

"She's alive!" Charlie shouted. No one cared. After all, Claire just looked as if she had been hit over the head with something heavy. Kate was the one bleeding all over the ground.

"Two bullets, one in the head, one in the stomach," Sawyer answered the unspoken question.

"Is she alive?" Hurley asked, looking nauseous.

"Whaddya think, Lardo?" Sawyer snapped, trying to hide his pain behind harsh words and cold stares. A moment of uncomfortable silence followed this outburst.

"Damnit, Freckles!" Sawyer cried suddenly, his face twisted in pain and anger. He wiped the blood off her face, an unusually tender gesture for him.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. The only sounds were sobs from some of the castaways. Then Charlie spoke up.

"Who's the unlucky soul who's going to go inform the cave-dwellers?"

"I'll go," Hurley looked almost excited at the thought of getting away from the blood-covered scene. People nodded their consent. No one else would want to break the news to Jack that Kate was dead. Someone handed Hurley a torch, and he set off.

He arrived at the cave to find everyone asleep, as was to be expected at this our. He debated as to how to wake everyone up for a moment.

"**HEY EVERYBODY! WAKE UP!**" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"What the hell is going on?" Ana Lucia asked blearily.

"Hurley, what's wrong?" Jack asked sleepily.

"It's Kate," Hurley told him. Jack was immediately awake, "She…was shot," Hurley wasn't ready to say 'She's dead'. After all, there was a chance that Sawyer was mistaken…right?

"Shot? By who?" By then, the other cave dwellers were gathering around Hurley.

"We don't know," Hurley admitted.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Come on, let's go to the beach!" Jack exclaimed, his voice rising.

He and Hurley headed back for the beach, followed by everyone except Shannon and Sayid, who was still bedridden.

"Go. I know you are worried about Kate too," Shannon was shocked at the fear in Sayid's eyes.

She bit her lip, and then nodded, "I'll give you a full story when I get back,"

By the time Shannon reached Claire's tent, the rest of the cave dwellers were already there. Shannon saw Jack taking Kate's pulse as Sawyer cradled her bloody body.

"She's dead," Jack's voice was flat and empty.

Shannon's heart broke for him, and a sob escaped her lips. She wished Sayid were there to hug her and hold her.

Sawyer had his eyes closed, trying to block everything out. This couldn't be happening. Kate, beautiful Kate, could not be dead. But it was. He was holding her bloodied body in his lap, trying to act tough, when really all he wanted to do was break down crying. She was really truly gone. Then something flared inside of him.

"She did this," Sawyer spat, "Alex must have done this. That's why she was gone all day. She went back to her people and arranged this,"

"You're right!" Charlie exclaimed, "I never trusted her,"

People murmured their agreement. Shannon stared at them in shocked.

"How can you people think this?" She cried, "After what she did for me and Sayid"

"How else would you explain her being gone all day?" Sawyer growled.

"So it's settled, then," Jack muttered, "Tomorrow, we find Alex, rescue Aaron, and avenge Kate's death,"

Shouts of approval rang from the survivors.

"Shouldn't we wait until Claire wakes up?" Sun asked timidly, "Then perhaps she can tell us what happened,"

"YES!" Shannon shouted exasperatedly, "_Someone _here has sense. We can't just go and attack her without any reason!"

"Aw, shut up, Sticks," Sawyer shot back.

Shannon didn't reply. She felt tears burn her eyes. Yeah, she hadn't trusted Alex at first, but when someone saves your life; your feelings about them usually change. But everyone else was being so damn stupid! Alex had saved her and Sayid's friggin lives! Wasn't all that worth anything?

"I still say we go after her," Charlie declared stubbornly.

That was it. Shannon couldn't stand listening to those idiots for a moment longer. Besides, she had to go tell Sayid. If no one else would listen to reason, he would.

She turned on her heel and left the beach, choking back tears. It wasn't as much of a crushing blow to her as when her step-brother had died, but Kate's death was going to shake up the camp. And right after Sayid got attacked. She could understand why everyone suspected Alex, even though she knew that could never happen. Alex wouldn't do something like that.

Sayid was still wide awake when Shannon returned, sitting straight up on the airline chair that served as a bed.

"Shannon! What happened? Who did it? Is everything okay?" Sayid asked, his dark eyes looking at her with worry.

She felt a fresh wave of tears coming on. She bit her lip, and shook her head. Slowly, almost as if she were in a dream, she made her way over to Sayid. He embraced her, and for a long time she cried into his shoulder. It felt like ages before they finally broke apart.

"She's dead," It was more of a statement that a question, a question that hardly needed to be asked.

Shannon sat on the edge of the bed and nodded slowly. Sayid closed his eyes, as if trying to block everything out.

"Someone shot Kate, knocked Claire out, and took Aaron," Shannon continued in a choked voice.

"How could this happen?" Sayid asked.

"They think Alex did this, or helped at least," Shannon said dully.

Sayid's eyes widened.

"What are they thinking?"

"I know, that was my initial thought. But Sawyer brought the idea up, and he's never been one to think things through. Especially when he's upset," Shannon sighed, remembering all too well how she'd tried to murder Locke after her brother had died.

"Did any of them listen to reason?" Sayid asked frustrated.

"A couple people, Sun, Rose, Locke, the intelligent people," Shannon said bitterly.

Sayid sighed, "I wonder where Alex has been all day,"

"You're not saying you actually think-," Shannon gasped.

"No, no," Sayid cut her off, "I'm just saying that if Kate was attacked, then maybe Alex was attacked by those same people,"

Shannon's eyes widened in horror as she realized his point.

"You're right! I didn't even think of that!"

Sayid nodded sadly.

"But I'm afraid we cannot do anything now. It is the middle of the night, making us prime targets for whomever or whatever is attacking people. We will simply have to wait until morning,"


	8. Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Title: Spread My Wings

Rating: (This Chapter) K+

Characters (in this chapter): Alex, Danielle, Sawyer, Charlie, Jack, Locke,

Warning: Character death (yes, there is going to be more death after the one in this chapter)

Ships: (these are subject to change) CharlieClaire, ShannonSayid, EkoAna or JackAna, SunJin or SunMicheal or MichealLibby, HurleyOC, and WaltOC (this story is going to take place over a span of many years, the last two won't be for a while)

Disclaimer: I don't own Lost.

Author's Note: I don't know what to say…except thanks for the great reviews and I love you all to death. I'm also toying with the idea of starting another story, problem is, I get distracted easily and it may end up one of the stories will fizzle. Also, while you wait for the next installment of this story, why don't you read my other story? If you review that story, I will give you candy of your choosing! Anyway, here are the replies to the reveiwers

**SGCFan4ever: **Out of all the people who could be guarding Claire and Aaron, Kate was the only one who could really be killed. Jack, though I hate him, is too important cuz of his medical abilities, Locke is the glue holding the castaways together, everyone loves sawyer too much, Ana Lucia was a possibility, but I actually like her, Sayid is still injured…I think that's all the people who really could do it, and out of all of them, Kate and Ana Lucia were the only spare able ones, and I chose Kate.

**CC: **Enjoy the story! New readers are loved!

**Sawyerz babe: **I'd like to see you try and hurt me! Lol, I'm the one in charge here! So there!

Alex opened her eyes and looked around, for a moment forgetting where she was. Then, memories of the night before came rushing back to her. She let out a purr of delight. Being with her mother, it was the first time she had ever been truly happy and at peace. And if she ever got off the damn island, she had a sister and possibly grandparents somewhere.

"Alex, you are awake, good," Her mother noticed her rising from her sleep, "Are you hungry?"

Alex nodded, and her mother tossed her another piece of fruit.

"Mom," Alex began, not sure how to say it, "I love spending time with you, but we probably shouldn't stay here. I need to get back to the other castaways. They're gonna begin to worry about me. But when I go back, I want you to come with me,"

Danielle looked reluctant.

"I kidnapped the baby. They would probably run me out of their camp," She murmured sadly.

"They would do no such thing. I wouldn't let them. Sayid will listen to me, if no one else," Alex insisted.

Danielle sighed.

"If it is truly what you want,"

"Look, if it's too hard to live with them, we can come back. But they're my friends, and I can't isolate myself," Alex pointed out.

"You are right," Danielle admitted, "I'll pack up some of my things, we shoud probably leave soon,"

Alex nodded, "If you need me to carry anything, I can,"

Danielle nodded, and handed her daughter an old, beat-up backpack filled with some of her belongings.

"Alright," Danielle said, "Let's go,"

**Back at the camp…**

The scene had not changed much from the event in the middle of the night. The crowds had dissipated, but Sawyer, Jack, and Charlie still stayed with Claire and Kate. Charlie insisted he wanted to be there when Claire woke up, and Jack and Sawyer (for obvious reasons) didn't want to leave Kate's body.

Once the sun was fully in the sky, Sawyer finally broke the uncomfortable and miserable silence.

"It's mornin'. We should head out to find Birdy and her freaky lil friends soon," Sawyer said, his voice not capturing the harsh tones it usually had.

Charlie nodded fervently, while Jack only mumbled something distant and incomprehensible.

"Well, I dunno about you, Doc, but I'm gonna go ask our resident tracker to help us find that traitor," Sawyer said bitterly, getting up and walking out of the tent.

"Hey there, Tarzan (A/N: I couldn't remember if Sawyer had any nicknames for Locke, so I used one of my own. It's kinda dumb, but then again, it's 6 am)," Sawyer called to Locke. Locke looked over at Sawyer with an expression of amused annoyance at his new nickname. Sawyer continued, "I need yer help trackin' Birdy down,"

"You mean Alex?" Locke asked.

"Hell ya," Sawyer replied, his voice rising with anger, "She killed Kate,"

Locke looked at Sawyer sadly.

"I'm afraid I can't help you,"

"Whaddya mean you can't help me?" Sawyer cried, "Yer a damn tracker! Of course you can help me!"

"Sawyer," Locke sighed, "aside from the fact that I don't believe Alex was the one who killed Kate, you need to think logically. Even if we did have proof that she did it, we can't track her. Don't you think she would have taken advantage of her wings in a situation like that?"

Sawyer just growled an incomprehensible reply.

"I'd suggest you just wait for Claire to wake up," Locke said simply, "She may have witnessed something,"

And with that, he turned his back on Sawyer and walked off, leaving Sawyer standing there, angry, miserable, and defeated.

Then, he noticed something, far down the beach. A person, two people actually. It was hard to tell at the distance, but one of the people looked a hell of a lot like Alex. He ran back to his shelter and grabbed his gun from his secret stash of stuff (A/N: Hey, that's alliteration!). He went back to Claire's tent and found Jack with Kate's body. His stomach clenched and his eyes burned at the sight of Kate's limp body. He clenched his fists; trying to keep up his tough image that it seemed only Kate had been able to see through.

"Hey, Doc," Sawyer began, his voice fighting to keep his mask from sliding away, "I think Birdy's comin' back,"

"What? Alex?" Jack asked, looking up at Sawyer through red-rimmed eyes

Sawyer nodded, his jaw clenched.

Jack's face darkened with anger.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go," He growled. But he hesitated for a moment before bending down and removing the gun from Kate's cold hand.

The left the shelter and they could see that it was indeed Alex heading towards them, with her mother walking several steps behind her looking more than a bit nervous. Alex saw them, and her smile brightened as she ran over to them. The joyful expression was wiped off her face, though, the moment she saw their angry expressions and the guns they were pointing at her.

"Don't move" Sawyer growled. Alex stared at them in shock, her yellow eyes wide with fear.

"Wha..?" She squeaked, "What's going on?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know," Jack said coldly.

"But I don't!" Alex wailed, "What happened while I was gone? What the hell did I do!"

Sawyer ignored her, "Got ol' mama to help you, eh? Like mother like daughter, I see. Kidnapper and murderer!"

Danielle was at Alex's side in an instant.

"My daughter did no such thing. She was with me all night," she growled

"Oh, now that _you_ say it, we're definitely going to believe you. _Your _word means everything, Madame Nutso," Sawyer said sarcastically.

Danielle raised a shotgun and pointed it at Sawyer.

"Wait! Mom! Sawyer! Jack! Everybody just calm down and don't shoot anyone!" Alex cried, her voice rising with panic, "Will you just explain to me what happened? I can't exactly testify against a crime if I don't know what the crime is!'

"She has a point," A new voice piped up from behind Jack. Locke appeared in the middle of the scene, "After all, innocent until proven guilty,"

"More like guilty until proven innocent, according to these two," Alex said angrily, "But thank you, Mr. Locke. Now, will you explain to me what happened?"

"Late last night," Locke began, his face clouding with pain, "We heard screams and several gunshots coming from Claire's tent. When we got there, we saw Claire and Kate unconscious and Aaron was gone,"

Alex let out a gasp.

"Oh, no, that's awful,"

"There's more," Jack looked like he was dangerously close to tears. Sawyer nodded resolutely. Locke continued.

"Claire had simply been hit over the head with something heavy, a concussion as Jack later diagnosed, but Kate had been shot. Twice. Once in the head, once in the stomach. By the time Jack arrived…there was nothing he could do. She was dead," Locke continued sadly. Jack choked back a sob, and Sawyer was just staring at the ground, the gun hanging limply at his side, looking as if he wanted to sink down into it.

"Kate's dead?" Alex asked, horrified. The three men nodded, "And you think _I_ did it?"

"I don't. They do," Locke said.

"You really think I'd help them after what they did to me?" Alex cried, "I'm a freaking monster and it's all because of them. Now we could waste our time pointing fingers, or we could get your precious baby back from the scientists,"

"Oh yeah?" Sawyer said aggressively, "Well, you seem to have pretty good idea of where they took him!"

"That's because I spent the first sixteen years of my life there!" Alex cried, now looking close to tears.

"Is that the only reason?" Sawyer asked angrily.

"For God's sake, YES!" Alex exclaimed.

Sawyer raised the gun again.

"Then why don' I believe ya?" He glared at her.

Danielle raised her gun again in an instant. Finally, Locke decided to step in.

"You guys, there is no evidence that Alex did anything," He said decisively, "We cannot accuse her unjustly,"

Alex said nothing simply looking at them pleadingly.

Jack sighed angrily.

"Okay, fine, I won't hurt her. But that doesn't mean I have to trust her," He muttered.

"Same here," Sawyer growled.

"Fair enough," Locke sighed, "Alex, you are free to go, at least until we get more evidence,"

Alex still looked uneasy, but she nodded.

"Jack!" A voice suddenly called from down the beach. Charlie came running up.

"Jack, Claire's waking up!"


End file.
